Faith in Action for Food Justice
On December 6, the Interfaith Center hosted its 41st Marshal Meyer’s Retreat for Social Justice, co-sponsored by B’nai Jeshurun, the Hindu Temple Society of North America, the Interfaith Public Health Network, Muslims Giving Back, and the Met Council. The conference opened with generous reflections from Dr. Dodi Meyer, daughter of the later Rabbi Meyer, and Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi from Buddhist Global Relief.
Afterwards, Kate MacKenzie, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, presented on the city’s various policies and initiatives. Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer moderated a rich discussion with MacKenzie and the audience, exploring issues such as inclusivity in school meals and procurement from local farms.
The faith based panel, which featured Kiana Davis, Dr. Lyla June Johnston, Yamina Kezadri, and Dr. Rucha Kaur, explored questions such as “What does your faith tradition say about food security?” and “How can faith or civic communities incorporate food insecurity into their current social justice efforts?” Together, the panelists drew attention to how faith traditions appreciate and utilize food to connect across various communities, and even to non-living entities, such as the land and water. Additional topics included the unique needs of religious and faith communities and the structural causes of food insecurity in New York City (and beyond), such as poverty and gentrification. To close this section, audience members were split into four groups and continued the discussion with one of the panelists.
Later, participants attended one of four workshops, each exploring a different intersection or subtopic in the broad umbrella of food justice. Bringing in facilitators from key organizations around the city, this segment explored religious inclusive meals, sustainable food systems, racial justice perspectives, and the current migrant crisis. All workshops were recorded and will be published on ICNY’s YouTube channel in the coming weeks.
To close the virtual program, Jose Soto-Rivera and Bob Pezzalesi from Bread for the World and the Interfaith Public Health Network, respectively, offered an informative session on current advocacy efforts that participants and their respective communities can participate in. Audience members learned about critical bills, such as the FARM Bill and Sweet Truth Act. Importantly, Soto-Rivera shared how audience members could find and write to their representatives, not only about food justice issues, but of any social justice issues. Offering of letters is one tool to reclaim the power of individual narratives, while building capacity in a group, be it a house of worship or group of friends.
Finally, an in-person community conversation hosted at Metro Baptist Church closed the 41st MMR program. Moderated by Rev. Breyer, the panel featured Isaac Adlerstein, Rev. Jana Dye, Sultana Ocasio, and Mireya Vesquez and explored what on-the-ground food justice work looks like. The panelists powerfully reflected that while their collection and distribution efforts are rewarding, their work must be accompanied by advocacy efforts, so they are ultimately “legislated out of work.” Attendees also had the opportunity to plant seeds for Metro Baptist’s rooftop garden together, discussing collective intentions and goals related to food security.
The Interfaith Center of New York is exceptionally grateful to all of our partners and participants. We are excited to continue programming on food justice in 2024 and support more advocacy measures. Please check out and share our conference’s resource guide!